Session: OAC-04-01 Storage and Transportation of Radioactive Materials-1

Paper Number: 123120

123120 - The Safety Assessment of Tanker Truck Due to Collision in Rollover Accidents 

Tanker trucks are commonly used for hazardous material transportation, such as chemical and petroleum products. Tanker truck rollover accidents occur every year, it would cause casualties and significant economic losses. Tanker trucks are susceptible to rollover accident when making a turn due to its high gravity center and the sloshing of liquid, some catastrophic accidents have occurred when making a turn. This study identifies the parameters that influence the safety of tankers due to collision in rollover accidents by conducting accident report review and numerical simulation. The data for modelling is taken from a tanker truck that was involved in an accident. The mechanical behavior of the material is experimented using specimens cut off from the tanker.

The multibody dynamics software ADAMS CAR is used for truck rollover simulation and provides initial velocity for collision simulation. The effect of liquid sloshing is considered by combining analytical method. The effect of fill rate, vehicle velocity, and turning radius to the critical turning speed are studied. The collision simulation is performed using ANSYS/LS-DYNA. The weight of tanker truck is considered, and the Johnson-Cook model is used as material stress-strain relationship and failure criteria. The effect of obstacle shape, height, round corner radius, and initial velocity to the tanker structure are studied. The results show that the height of obstacle does not have significant influence on the tanker rupture opening due to impact. The size of tanker rupture opening due to collision increases as impact velocity rises, while the size of rupture opening decreases as the obstacle round corner radius increases.

The results of this study can provide insights on optimizing the tanker design, and measures to reduce the accidents.

Presenting Author: Heyi Feng China Special Equipment Inspection and Research Institute

Presenting Author Biography: Heyi Feng graduated from Purdue University in 2021. He joined the department of structural research at CSEI as a research assistant. Heyi's research interests include tanker truck structural analysis and optimization and structural optimization techniques of type IV hydrogen storage cylinders.

Authors:

Heyi Feng China Special Equipment Inspection and Research Institute
Xiaodong Xu China Special Equipment Inspection and Research Institute
Guide Deng China Special Equipment Inspection and Research Institute
Xiaopeng Kang China Special Equipment Inspection and Research Institute
Yongquan Li China Special Equipment Inspection and Research Institute
Guodong Jia China Special Equipment Inspectionn and Research Institute